Simply Lily
by UndeniablyMe
Summary: Lily leaves Slughorn with a last parting gift at graduation to remember her, his favorite student, by. Inspired by Slughorn's story in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the movie.


**Simply Lily**

A Story by UndeniablyMe

**A/n: **So, this was written the second I came back from the midnight showing of the Half-Blood Prince. I was captivated by the story that Slughorn told about Harry's mother and this is what came of it. If you haven't seen the movie, well, go see it, and the rest of you, read on! :)

-UndeniablyMe

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When Slughorn woke that morning and came into his office--lazily clearing it and getting ready for his own departure for the summer break--it was to see an unexpected gift placed upon his desk.

The bowl was simple, but captivating in its own little way. Clear, like a window pane, bulbous, like a little hollowed out ball and filled with water on which floated a lily petal. The little petal gave off a slight fragrance, modest and kind and endearing. It floated on top of the water, dancing lazily on the surface; waiting.

Slughorn examined it bemusedly, searching for any hidden qualities or indication to why it had been left on his desk. Had a student misplaced it or was it some kind of heinous experiment being conducted? He bent closer, eyeing it with slight suspicion. Was James Potter up to his old tricks again? That boy made more trouble than that regrettably accquired poltergeist.

As he mused over this thought process, the little lily petal sunk below the surface, continuing its dance in the waters below as it descended down… down… down… until it'd almost reached the bottom. Slughorn frowned. An exquisite lily petal like that shouldn't be made to touch the bottom of the bowl. But, as he was reaching his hand out to do something about the descending flower petal it began to change. Slowly, liltingly and beyond words the petal transfigured into nothing less then a small angel fish—palest pink like the flower petal with emerald green eyes.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Slughorn said, a grin replacing the former frown. His fingers traced the form of the little fish bowl. "Beautiful. I wonder…"

He didn't finish the rest out loud because, as the fish swam happily around in its clear little bowl, he knew without a doubt who had left it for him. Lily Evans, who had earlier that morning graduated and would now be putting her bright shoulders back and stepping into the world, had left him an angel fish.

The magic was inspiring, the presence graceful and the setup simple. Simply _Lily_, that was. It was utterly and completely Lily and Slughorn was grateful for it. It wasn't always easy, watching so many children go out into the world and wondering if--with such troubled times--he'd ever see them again.

Every morning after that Professor Slughorn would come downstairs and smile at the little fish that swam in the bowl. He took it as a sign, that Lily Evans—now Potter, actually, what with the wedding—was doing well and that she had gone on to do all the things she'd ever wanted. It was heartening to know that, even in the world that had become so cruel, people like Lily Evans Potter could still blossom and shed light.

And then… there was that awful morning when he woke up and the fish was gone; gone, in a simple moment, leaving the bowl empty. The water sparkled in the otherwise empty glass bowl, mocking what had once been.

At that moment Horace Slughorn knew, without a doubt, that Lily Evans Potter, along with her beautiful magic, was gone from the world. He knew even before the post came, even before the Headmaster had to tell him. He knew and immediately went and told the Headmaster that he was resigning his post. He couldn't bear the thought of teaching more students, just to have their bright lights snatched away as Lily's had. What kind of a world was this if people like the angelic, gifted, talented and unexpected Lily were gone…?

_Professor Slughorn—_

_Thank you for all the time spent teaching, talking and helping me. I'll always remember your kindness and your advice. You were a wonderful teacher; I'll never forget it._

_Simply,_

_Lily_

He looked at the thoughtfully scrawled note that he had found attached to her very last homework assignment nearly five years previously. Slughorn sighed, leaning back to wipe his wet eyes. Lily was gone… Lily Evans was _gone._

His only hope was that, though the simply beautiful witch was gone, her sacrifice had really brought about the end of that horror that now haunted his very dreams. But something told him, as he closed his eyes and saw that vision from so very many years ago, that this was not the end. As the ugly word, stinking of dark magic, reverberated in his mind he knew that this was many years from being over.

_Horcrux. _

And Lily, in her very simple kindness and beauty, would have never dreamed that her Potions Master had armed the darkest wizard of all time with the knowledge that could very well lead to the unraveling of the wizard world.

"Forgive me Lily," he said, a tear falling off his face and mingling with his mustache. "Forgive me."

But the bowl remained empty; painfully, achingly, simply empty.

_Lily…_

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**A/n: **That's the end! Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you thought!

-UndeniablyMe ;)


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